Child&#39;s seat with tray



Dec. 4, 1962 Filed Sept. 21, 1960 A. Z. BOYAJIAN CHILD'S SEAT WITH TRAY 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. flzfred Z. gag Ea BY$MQL- *W Dec. 4, 1962 Filed Sept. 21, 1960 A. Z. BOYAJIAN CHILD'S SEAT WITH TRAY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 14 &*Z?

3,066,977 CHllLDS SEAT WITH TRAY Alfred Z. Boyajian, Foldmaster Co., Scituate, Mass. Filed Sept. 21, 1960, Ser. No. 57,558 1 Claim. (Cl. 297-153) This invention relates to a childs seat of the kind which has a tray and has for its principal objects to provide a seat which may be suspended from a chair back, which is foldable, and in which the tray is easily removable for the purpose of washing after use or storage in the event that it may be desirable to use the seat at a table without employing the tray. Other objects are to provide a simplified construction which permits compact folding without sacrifice in sturdiness, durability, safety and appearance, and to provide a structure in which the tray may be mounted or dismounted without removing fastening elements which may become lost and yet which cannot be accidentally removed by the child.

As herein illustrated, the seat has a bottom, back and arms and means supporting the arms in laterally spaced relation to each other and in parallel relation to the bottom which permits limited lateral displacement of the forward end of the arms relative to each other. Preferably the component parts are pivotally connected for folding into parallel relation to the bottom. A tray is adapted to be disposed across the forward ends of the arms and has on its underside means interengageable with the arms when the latter occupy their normal spacing to lock the tray to the arms. Preferably there are downwardly projecting bearing elements containing openings through which project locking elements mounted on the arms. Displacement of the arms laterally is operable to withdraw the locking elements from engagement with the bearing elements to release the tray and re-engagement is effected by allowing the arms to return to their undisplaced positions. The bearing elements are in the form of flanges extending downwardly from the tra, at the inner sides of the arms, and contain openings, and the locking elements are horizontally disposed portions at the upper ends of flexible rods which project through the arms and through the openings in the flanges, the lower ends of the arms being pivotally connected to the underside of the bottom.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of the seat;

PEG. 2 is a side elevation showing the seat suspended from the back of a conventional chair;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical section taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan view, on reduced scale, showing a modification wherein the arms of the seat comprise the open ends of a U-shaped member;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the seat shown in FIG. 4;

PEG. 6 is a plan view of a further modification wherein the seat is non-collapsible and does not require support rods for the arms;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the seat shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a partial side view illustrating a modification of the bearing plate projecting from the underside of the tra and FIG. 9 is a front elevation showing a modified locking means for holding the tray on the arms.

Referring to the drawings, the seat has a bottom 10, a back 12 and arms 14-14. The bottom and back are preferably hardwood, such as maple, and the arms are hollow metal tubes, for example aluminum. It is to be understood however that any suitable rigid material may be substituted for the wood of the bottom and back and that other metals or plastic tubular material may be used for the arms.

nited States atent The back is pivotally supported at its lower end (FIG. 2), at the rear end of the bottom, by a pair of rigid brackets 16-16, the brackets having horizontal limbs 18-18 fastened rigidly to the opposite sides of the bottom and upright, rearwardly inclined limbs 20-20, supporting horizontally disposed pins 22-22, upon which the lower end of the back is pivotally mounted.

The rear ends of the arms 14-14 are pivotally supported on pins 24-24 fixed in the lateral edges of the back, so as to project horizontally outwardly therefrom. The pins have heads at their outer extremities which retain the arms in place. The arms 14-14 are held parallel to the bottom when the seat is in use and in parallel relation to each other by supporting rods 26-26 which are secured at their lower ends to the bottom and which have at their upper ends horizontally disposed portions 28-28, which extend through diametrically disposed openings 30-30 near the ends of the arms. The lower ends of the rods 26-26 may be integrally joined by a cross-rod 32 (FIG. 1), extending horizontally beneath the bottom 10 and pivotally secured in place by clamps 34-34 screwed or otherwise fastened to the bottom side of the bottom. The rods 26-26 are preferably round in cross-section and are sufficiently stiff normally to hold the forward ends of the arms at a predetermined space, but which may be forcibly displaced to decrease the spacing between them. Since the portions 28-28 are of round cross-section and the openings 30-39 are correspondingly circular, the back and arms may be folded downwardly into engagement with the bottom, into compact relation for storage when not in use.

The seat is provided with a tray 36 (FIG. 2), which is adapted to be placed crosswise of the arms at their outer ends and to be removably attached thereto, so that, after use, it may easily be removed for washing, or when not required for storage, and to make it easy to seat the child. The tray, as herein shown, is comprised of molded plastic, for example vinylite, having a depressed supporting surface 38 bounded peripherally by an upstanding wall 40. Other plastics may be used for this purpose and it is within the scope of the invention to substitute wood or metal trays where found desirable.

As herein illustrated, FIG. 3, the tray has cast or molded on its underside, according to the method of manufacture, laterally spaced lugs 42--42 and angle plates 44-44 and 46-46 are fastened to these bosses by screws 4-8. The angle plates 4-4-44 have portions which extend horizontally outward for engagement with the upper sides of the arms in their normal position and which provide bearing surfaces of appreciable length for contact with the upper sides of the arms to prevent the tray from rocking. The angle members 46-46 have downwardly projecting flanges Sit-5t) which engage the inner sides of the arms when the latter occupy their normally undisplaced position and these flanges have openings 52-52, through which project extensions 54-54 at the inner ends of the horizontal portions 28-28. The extensions 54-54 are preferably tubular caps pressed onto the inwardly extending extremities of the portions 28-22. The extensions serve, by engagement with the holes 62-62 in the flanges, to lock the tray securely in place against the tops of the arms and :also prevent disengagement of the portions 28-28 from the arms by engagement of their outer ends with the arms. When it is desirable to remove the tray the forward ends of one or both of the arms 14-14 may be displaced inwardly due to the flexibility of the rods 26-26 to disengage the extensions 54-54 from the openings 52-52 in the flanges 59-56, merely by applying pressure to the arms. It is not necessary to displace both arms for merely by holding one arm and displacing the other toward it, one of the locking elements 54 may be disengaged from the tray, whereupon the tray may be tilted upwardly and moved from the other locking element.

As shown in F168. 4-7, the arms 14a-14a of the seat can comprise the open ends of a U-shaped member having a base portion 6% which passes behind the back 12 of the seat. Arms 14a14a have pins 6666 secured thereto with outwardly projecting horizontal portions adapted to engage holes 52-52 in flanges 5tl50.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5, the U-shaped member is secured to the back 12 by the pivot pins 24 which permit collapse of the chair for storage. Arms 14a14a are supported by fiat members 26a26a pivotally secured to the arms by pins 6666 and pivotally secured to the bottom 19 by pins 68-68.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7, the base portion 64 of the U-shaped member is rigidly secured to the back 12 by means of screws 70 which support the arms 14a14a without requiring supporting rods joining the ends thereof to the bottom 10. This embodiment is noncollapsible and is provided with brackets fizz-16a which rigidly support the seat and back at a fixed angle.

FIG. 8 illustrates a modification of flanges 5tl5tl wherein a plurality of openings 52 are provided in each flange. Projections 5454 or the projections of pins 6666 may selectively engage any opposed pair of openings 5252, to provide fore and aft adjustment in the location of tray 36.

FIG. 9 illustrates a simplified locking means in the form of C-shaped clips 72-72 fastened to the underside of the tray, which partially embrace the arms when they occupy their normal spacing, but which may be disengaged from the arms by movement of the arms toward each other. Preferably the clips are made of springy metal and may be Wide enough lengthwise of the arms to provide bearing supports for the tray which will prevent the latter from tilting on the arms.

As herein shown (FIGS. 2 and 7), the seat is provided with pivotally supported hooks 56-56, one at each side of the back 12 near the upper end, which may be disposed over the upper end of the back of the conventional chair to support the childs seat in suspension therefrom, with its bottom substantially parallel to the bottom of the chair on which it is suspended. The seat is also provided with a rearwardly swingable U-shaped bracket 58 (FIG. 2), the upper ends of which are journaled on the pins 24-24 between the rear ends of the arms 1414 and the sides of the back and the loop at the lower end of which is rearwardly displaceable by a slidable adjusting bar 60 of the kind disclosed in my Patent No. 2,742,954, dated April 24, 1956.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

in a childs seat comprising a seat bottom and back, a pair of arms, each of which is pivotally connected at its rear end to an edge of the back above the seat bottom, said arms having at their forward ends transverse holes, a pair of supporting rods pivotally secured at their lower ends to the seat bottom adjacent the forward end of the seat bottom, said rods having at their upper ends horizontal. outwardly projecting extensions extending through the holes in the arms from the inner sides outwardly, bearing caps pressed on the portions of the horizontal extensions projecting outwardly beyond the arms, said bearing caps having outside diameters larger than the holes and operating to hold the rods engaged with the arms and providing bearing surfaces for supporting a tray, a tray adapted to be placed across the arms, brackets fixed to the tray at each side, each of which has rightangularly disposed flanges, one of which is horizontal and the other vertical or tangential engagement with the top and inner side of each arm, each vertical flange containing a hole through which the cap extension extends and is held engaged therewith by the resistance of the rods to outward deflection relative to each other, said cap extensions being disengageable from said flanges to release the tray by a finger pressure applied inwardly to the cap extensions while gripping the tray at opposite sides.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED ST YES PA ENTS 318,131 Paine May 19, 1885 377,720 Pierce Feb. 7, 1888 585,913 Haynes July 6, 1897 1,129,606 Ruel Feb. 23, 1915 1,217,950 Johnston Mar. 6, 1917 1,361,504 Snideman Dec. 7, 1920 2,497,658 Davis Feb. 14, 1950 2,724,429 Warner Nov. 22, 1955 2,988,232 Koett June 13, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 130,213 Australia July 24, 1947 134,596 Austria Aug. 25, 1933 184,580 Switzerland June 15, 1936 491,276 Canada Mar. 17, 1953 

